Toe iron



T. ELLIOTT March 28, 1939.

TOE IRON Filed June 10, 1958 INVENTOR Theodore Elliott ATTORNEY PatentedMar. 28, 1939 UNITED PATENT" OFFICE IRON Theodore Elliott, Winchester,Mass. 7 I Application June "10, 1938, Serial No. 212,923

: Claims.

This invention relates to the .art ,of skiing and is particularly.concerned with the problem of suitably attaching the skiers shoe to theski.

In attaching shoes to skis, the requirements 5 are simple. The shoe mustbe so held thatit may be readily flexed .as the skier takes a forwardstep but at the same time it must be secured in such a way that therewill be no lateral motion between the shoe and the ski. This isessential .if

proper control is to .be had. In addition, the area on which the sole ofthe shoe rests must be ample to prevent distortion of the sole.

It is customary to provide a clamping means .of some sort to hold theforward part of the shoe 5 sole firmly in position on .theski while itis urged forwardly by some sort .of flexible binder, fastener or strapmeans which .at the same time permits raising of the heel. Oneof thecommonest forms of toe clamping means or toe irons, as

they are commonly called, is .a channel-shaped member having its sidesconverging forwardly. In thischannel the sole of the shoe maybe wedgedand :held in position by the forward pressing binder means about theheel. A strap usually runs the shoe toe to prevent the shoe fromslipping upwardly out of position.

Due to "the varying-sizes and shapes of skiers shoes, it has been founddesirable to make the toe irons adjustable laterally so that they mayfit various size shoes.

One of the objects of my invention is, therefore, to provide a toe ironwhich may be adjusted to fit shoes of various sizes and shapes and atthe same time provide the firm and adequate support that is essential.

Another object of my invention is to provide a toe iron which may beadjusted in small increments easily and without undue loss of time.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a toe iron whichnot only has the foregoing advantages but also is made simplyandruggedly so that it may withstand the severest useto which it may beput.

These and. other advantages of my invention will appear as thedescription proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawing in whichFig. 1 is a plan-view of my toe iron as it appears installed on a ski.Fig. 2 is an elevation of my toe iron looking from the rear. 1

Fig. 3 is a section .on the line 3-13 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 14 is a plan view-of my toeironshowingone cover plate and one sideplate removed. .Eig. :5 i512. plan viewof one of the cover. Plates.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the cover plate shown in Fig. .5.

Referring .now to Fig. 1, ,2 is a ski of the usual construction to whichmy toe iron is to .be secured. The toe iron consists of but'five parts,,a base 5 plate A, the side plates 6 and 2.8, .and the cover plates l0andzlZ.

Base .plate 4 at its forward and-rear edges has upturnedfianges .l4 andI6 which, on their inner edges, are provided with notches or teeth L8and 1p 20.

These teeth may extend continuously from .one side of the base plate .tothe. other .or .theypmay :be discontinuous as shown in Fig. 1. It ismerely necessary that there be sufiicient teeth to 'pro- 15 vide.thedesired range of adjustment. Base plate 4 is preferably madeof fairly:heavygauge metal, sufiiciently strong to withstandany loads that maybeapplied, and for best results should be plated or .of stainless steel,as should all of the 20 parts.

' "The side plates 6 and :8 are constructed :to \be mounted on the :base.plateA within the upturned flanges 14 and 16. Each side plate, as canbe readily seen from the .drawing, is made of sheet 2 metal formed atsubstantially a right angle .to provide a horizontal portion 22 which isin .engagement with the .base plate anda substantially vertical sideWall ,24 against which the-sideof the shoe is wedged. 30

V The horizontal portion :22 of each side plate has its front and rearedges provided with notches or .teeth.2,6 and 28 which .are adapted toengage with teeth l8 and 20 of the base plate- Teeth 2,6 .and.28,however,3are formed ,on arcsof acircle 3 the diameter of which is equal.to the distance between flanges I4 and 16. Bythis arrangement, it isobvious that side plates .6 and .8 may be set in a large number ofdifferent positions between flanges .14 and H5, and still by virtue'ofthe en- 40 gagement with the teeth be held-securely against lateralmovements.

This construction makes it possible for side walls 24 to be moved closertogether or farther apart as desired, and at the same time the angu- 45larity of each wall may be varied, individually.

In-base plate4 there are a plurality of holes 30 through which securingscrews are adapted to pass. The horizontal portions 22 of'the-sideplates 6 and "8 have been cut away, as at 132, .to provide 5 ample rangeof lateral movement with respect to the screws.

Overlying the horizontalportions 22 of theside plates, which in turn areresting on the base-plate 4, are the two cover plates lll'and l2. These55 cover plates are complementary and the forward and rear ends havedownwardly turned flanges 38 and 4|! which assist in securing the coverplates against longitudinal movement. The two cover plates together forma trapezoidal supporting surface of suflicient area to adequatelysupport that part of the sole directly under the foot. The edges of thesole, in very large shoes, which might overhang the sides of the coverare under no direct vertical load and hence there is no distortion.

Each cover plate is perforated with holes corresponding to holes 30 inthe base plate and the holes so formed have the metal bent downwardly asat 4| to provide rigidity as well as a countersunk area to take the headof an ordinary flathead screw. 7, V

After positioning the horizontal portions 22 as desired with respect tobase plate 4, the cover plates l0 and 2 may be laid thereover tosubstantially cover the horizontal portions and may be secured by theintroduction of screws through the registering holes in the cover plateand base plate. The side plates 6 and 8 will thereby be firmly fastenedagainst any movement.

The cut-away areas 32 of the horizontal portions 20 and 22 are largeenough so that there will be no engagement with the downwardly formededges 4| 'of the screw holes of the cover plates. Nor do the edges 4|depend far enough to touch the base plate 4 when the unit is in securedposition. That is to say, the horizontal portions 2|] and 22 areheldagainst lateral movement by the, meshing of the teeth l8 and 26while 55 vertical movement is prohibited by the clamping action of baseplate4 and the two cover plates.

It should also be noted that whenthe horizontal portion 22 of eitherside plate is adjusted to the most inward position permitted by itsaccompanying cover plate, no part of the portion 22 will be covered bythe other cover plate. That is to say, each horizontal portion 22 andits cover plate are disposed at all times on opposite sides of the linealong which the cover plates abut. This is essential if each side plateis to be freely adjustable without disturbing the other.

On the side walls 24 of the side plates 6 and 8 are means forcontrolling the location of the flexible tensioning means that iscustomarily used to force the shoe forwardly into the toe iron. A lip 42is punched outwardly from each of the side walls 24 and this lipprovides a stop against which the flexible means will upwardly engage asth heel is raised.

A second provision for engaging the flexible means is supplied in theform of the downwardly bent tabs 44 at the rear of each. of the sidewalls. Under certain conditions of skiing it is found desirable that theforce exerted by the flexible means be directed somewhat lower, and whensuch conditions prevail, tabs 44 are pressed into use.

In applying my toe iron to the ski, the following procedure is used. Thebase plate 4 is positioned at the proper location for the ball of thefoot and midway between the sides of the ski. The position is noted bymarking on the ski through the screw holes in the base plate. At thesepoints small holes may be drilled in the skiis of a size adapted tosubsequently receive the screws. I

With the base plate thus located, the side plates 6 and 8 are setthereon in the approximate positions required to accept the skiers shoe.Cover plates IO and I2 are then placed thereover and screws 46 areinserted and screwed firmly in position binding the side plates firmlyin place.

With the toe iron thus installed, the user may then insert his shoe andsecure it by the. usual flexible tensioning means. If, upon inspection,it appears that the side walls 24 of the toe iron are not spaced aproper distance apart or are at an incorrect angle, adjustment mayreadily be made by removing first one cover plate, as for example |2',and adjusting side plate 6. Thereafter,

when. cover plate |2 has been resecured cover construction disclosed butonly by the appended claims.

' I claimi 1. A toe iron comprising a base plate having oppositelydisposed flanges, a pair of side plates having horizontal portionspositioned on said base plate and between said flanges, means on saidbase plate and on said horizontal portions for adjustable engagementtherebetween, and a cover plate comprising two parts, one part overlyingthe horizontal portion of one side plate, the other part overlying thehorizontal portion of the other side plate and means for binding saidbase plate, horizontal portions and cover plates against a ski, wherebyone of said cover plates may be removed to permit individual adjustmentof one side plate without disturbing saidother side plate.

2. A toe iron comprising a base plate having oppositely disposedflanges, a pair of side plates having horizontal portions adapted to bepositionedon said base plate, means for adjustable engagement betweensaid base plate flanges and said horizontal portions, and anindividualcover plate for each of said horizontal portions for independentlylocking each portion between said base plate and said cover platewhereby one side plate may be'adjusted without disturbing the adjustmentof said other side plate.

3. A toe iron comprising a baseplate having raised teeth at its frontand rear ends, a pair of side plates each having a horizontal portionwith teeth on the front and rear edges, said portions adjustablypositioned on said base plate with said teeth engaging said raised teethat both the front and rear, said portions being wholly disposed oneither side of a medial line extending between the said raised teeth,and means for independently locking each horizontal portion in positionon said base plate comprising a pair of cover plates, said cover platesdisposed on opposite sides of said medial line, and together forming atrapezoidal bearing surface, registering holes through said base plate,horizontal portions and cover plates, whereby they may be screwed to aski and whereby the cover plate and side plate on one side of saidmedial line may be removed and adjusted without disturbing the settingor securing means of said other side plate.

4. A toe iron comprising a baseplate having integral upturned parallelend flanges with teeth on their opposed faces, a pair of side plateseach having a horizontal portion with oppositely disposed ;teeth forengagement with said flange teeth, a pair of complementary cover platesadapted to overlie and bind said horizontal portions when the latter arein position on said base plate, common means for securing said partstogether, the engagement between said cover plates and horizontalportions being distributed over a substantial area remote from saidsecuring means, and each horizontal portion being disposed under onlyone of said cover plates.

5. A toe iron comprising a base plate, a pair of side plates havingportions connected thereto adapted to be positioned on said base plate,means whereby said portions may be adjusted in relation to said baseplate comprising means oppositely disposed on said base plate andcooperating means on said portions, and an individual cover plate foreach of said portions for independently locking each portion betweensaid base plate and said cover plate whereby one side plate may beadjusted without disturbing the adjustment of said other side plate.

THEODORE ELLIO-IT.

